Mary would never be rich, but she could see out her days knowing she created one of the car industry's greatest safety inventions.
One snowy day in New York
On a winter visit to New York City, Mary Anderson noticed a trolley car driving with the front windows open, as the freezing driver was struggling to keep the windscreen clear of falling snow. There had to be a better way to see? She began sketching there and then.
The final piece of the puzzle
When she returned home to Alabama, she finessed her idea for a hand-operated lever that would keep the windscreen clear. The resulting design was produced by a local company, and consisted a swinging arm device with rubber blades that the driver could operate with a lever. Others had created similar solutions previously, but Mary's had one key innovation: counterweights on the arm, which ensured the blade stayed in contact with the glass.
Ahead of its time
Awarded a patent in 1903, Mary wrote to a large Canadian company, offering to sell her rights. But they weren't interested, saying it had little commercial value. The market for cars boomed, and Mary's patent expired in 1920 – when someone else revived her idea, patented it, and sold it for a significant sum.